Free-to-play (F2P) white label gaming company Inside The Pocket (ITP) has entered into a partnership with digital cricket platform ESPNcricinfo for an exclusive free daily fantasy offering under the brand WonderWins. The platform is expected to be launched before this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) which is scheduled to start on March 26.
Also read: 100+ complaints against online gaming ads processed since January 2021: Govt
ESPNcricinfo is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket from Walt Disney owned ESPN. The collaboration enables cricket fans to engage with fantasy gaming as well as accessing match coverage, news, information, and analysis and being part of the large community of cricket fans in India and the subcontinent to engage this experience.
ESPNcricinfo has over 15 million highly engaged fans across its social media channels in India. By becoming the exclusive Daily Fantasy provider for ESPNcricinfo in India and the subcontinent, WonderWins aims to connect with over 85 million cricket fans on the ESPNcricinfo platform.
Also read: BCCI says no to sponsors from real money games, okays fantasy sports brands
Hussain Naqi, Founder of both WonderWins and Inside The Pocket, said: “We’re understandably delighted to have become ESPNcricinfo’s exclusive Daily Fantasy partner in India and subcontinent. It’s a genuine honor to have been chosen to roll out fantasy games for such a trusted and revered international partner, whose very name brings instant authenticity and credibility with the end user. ESPN have been a brilliant and agile collaborator, organically wrapping WonderWins around their fantasy programming – from new article links to bespoke video programming and other product levers as we look forward to the much-anticipated IPL 2022 season ahead. It’s an exciting time and I’m thrilled to be over in India myself to witness the roll-out first hand.”
“Our underlying platform is uniquely well-positioned to leverage this opportunity because we can diversify content, leverage consumer data and partition it for partners as the market’s shifting sands coalesce. Our multiple data partnerships deliver us unique consumer insights that will allow us to hyper-segment our audience communication over time, including for other sporting events like the World Cup 2022 football.”
Ramesh Kumar, VP & Head of ESPN Digital Media India, stated: “This is an exciting announcement, as now with this collaboration with WonderWins, ESPNcricinfo fans in India and the subcontinent region will be able to play and enjoy free fantasy on our platform, building a deeper engagement on ESPNcricinfo not just with the game-play but also with the enormous content that we will power to help users play intelligently. The timing is perfect with the exciting new season coming up and we are delighted to offer our new age cricket fans the right mix of information and entertainment for them to follow their favourite sport and teams.
“Consequently, we are now able to wrap an array of complementary programming and editorial content in the fantasy space around WonderWins, significantly boosting fan engagement around the game, as the new IPL season comes into sharp focus.”